The FPF (Federação Portuguesa de Futebol) today announced that there are to be pilot test games in the country this month.
The Federation has held several meetings with the Ministry of Health and the Health Authority regarding the return of fans into stadiums and for the upcoming games, all three clubs could have a maximum of 15 percent of the capacity in the stadium.
The matches in question are all in UEFA competitions and will be the inaugural European home game this season for each club.
FC Porto’s game is first up, they are involved in UEFA Champions League this season and they take on Greek outfit Olympiakos at the Estádio do Dragão on the 21st of October. The Dragão, built in 2003 ahead of the 2004 European Championships, has a capacity of just over 50,000 therefore 7,500 supporters could be allowed in.
Sporting Braga play the following day in the UEFA Europa league. Os Arsenalistas, like porto, take on Greek opposition in the form of AEK Athens. Estádio Municipal de Braga, also known as The Quarry, has a capacity of 30,000, meaning up to 4,500 fans could be in attendance.
A week later, on the 29th of October, SL Benfica takes on Belgian opposition in the form of Standard Liège. Estádio da Luz is the biggest stadium in Portugal with a capacity just over 65,000, meaning up to 9,750 Benfiquista’s could be allowed in the stadium.
The FPF has been pushing toward the safe return of fans in recent times, with the Estádio José Alvalade being used in two trial matches earlier this month in the two Seleção matches between Spain (5% capacity) and Sweden (10% capacity) respectively.
